Max Booth III

answers the Usual Questions

Max Booth

Max Booth III is the author of two novels, TOXICITY and THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE, along with a collection of flash fiction called THEY MIGHT BE DEMONS. He is the co-founder of Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing and the assistant editor of Dark Moon Digest. The editor of numerous anthologies, he has studied under Craig Clevenger and award winning editor, Jennifer Brozek. He writes columns for Litreactor, Revolt Daily, and Zombie POP. Raised in Northern Indiana, Max currently works as a hotel night auditor somewhere in San Antonio with his dachshund and life partner.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

I still feel weird using the word "fans" when discussing my own writing, but a lot of people (both online and offline) have approached me and asked when I am going to write a novel about my experiences working the night shift at a hotel. I tend to post a lot of Facebook and Twitter statuses documenting the bizarre encounters at work, and people seem to love them. So, in that aspect, they have motivated me to start working on a hotel novel. The book is tentatively titled Strange Nights.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

In the beginning of June I attended Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, signing copies of my novel, TOXICITY, at the Post Mortem Press vendor table. During this time, I dressed like a homeless person, made a sign out of cardboard, threw my hat (filled with change) on the ground, and collapsed in the gutter. It was all an elaborate promo idea to sell more copies of my novel. Later on in the day, a man passes me, and I drunkenly shout something at him about reading TOXICITY, and he goes, "But I just finished the kindle -- wait, are you MAX?" So, it was pretty awkward and hilarious that someone who enjoyed my novel first met me while panhandling on the streets of Chicago.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

I think maybe John Dies at the End by David Wong is the one book I always return to. I tend to reread it once a year. I really admire the way he mastered the "genre-aware" style of the horror novel. Plus, the book is very funny while also being terrifying. Not an easy feat.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

A mechanic who specializes in elevators.

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

Anyone else. I'm too claustrophobic to share oxygen.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

Lots and lots of oxygen.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

Most people will say they don't write for the money. And I don't either, to a certain extent. If I never made another cent from my work, I would still write every day until I died. But, what I'd like most is to make enough to quit my job and just write full time while being able to provide a comfortable lifestyle for my family.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

The best thing about writing, for me, is making characters come alive. They would not be breathing if not for my words.